First train you remember going on

[Peter Mugridge]

I can just about remember, when I was very little, going on green EPBs and SUBs on occasion. And a little bit later on, COP stock on the District Line.

Pity I was too young to have any concept of train numbers then, let alone of writing them down!

 

[trentside]

Mine has to be the 1962 tube stock on the Central Line. I know we left the train a Newbury Park, and returned there the next day onboard a brand new 1992 stock. It was probably around 1994. This was my one and only journey on a '62 as far as I remember, though I travelled on the '59s on the Northern a few times over the next few years after that.

 

[bnm]

Class 47 and Mark 1 compartment stock (I think - I was only 5!) From Taunton to Dawlish.

 

[TheMysticEgg]

First train I went on was probably an NSE 4Cig/Vep slammer into Waterloo in the mid 90s from Winnersh.I swear they may have been playing classical music over the loudspeakers! First trip on my own was a Central Trains 150 into Worcester when I started high school (2006).

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Merseyrail 503

Unlike the next generation 508s aged under 2, I could see out of the window on those. They vanished in the mid 80s.

same here

 

[anthony263]

Intercity class 47 from Bristol Parkway to Paignton back in 1991.

makes me feel old

 

[exile]

Not my 1st train, but I remember a Black Five at Waverley simmering after hauling our train from Perth - 1965?

 

[Failed Unit]

It is surprising (well sort of) that can't remember life before the sprinters / pacers. Even the 91s and mk4s have 23 years service! I can remember the HSTs arriving and the excitement as the various sprinter class came in. BR were very proud of the 150s the had the s in the timetable, big marketing push etc.

 

[WestCoast]

It is surprising (well sort of) that can't remember life before the sprinters / pacers. Even the 91s and mk4s have 23 years service! I can remember the HSTs arriving and the excitement as the various sprinter class came in. BR were very proud of the 150s the had the s in the timetable, big marketing push etc.

This was posted a few months back from publicity material about the 2nd gen DMUs...

Setting the pace...
Introducing the civilised way to speed to the shops, wend to work, trot off to school or head for the big match.
The new Pacer trains. To give you the local rail service of the future - now. More convenient, more reliable.
With trains so smooth, spacious and comfortable, you feel as though you're still sitting at home.
Step aboard , and you can't help noticing the changes. Air operated double folding doors. Smart new interior design. Modern high speed structure. Better lighting, better suspension, even at 75mph. Better seating, and room to stretch. Plus a toilet compartment on very train. It makes travelling a really relaxing experience again.
So next time you're off to work, or off to the shops, remember who sets the pace in Lancashire. And take the Pacer.

 

[Hydro]

This was posted a few months back from publicity material about the 2nd gen DMUs...

I got as far as "with trains so smooth".

 

[Failed Unit]

More reliable. The pacers were awful at the beginning as the self changing gears blew up. Lots of people enjoyed this however with the frequent substitutions with loco haulages. I have noticed that BR mentioned the toilets a lot but in 114 country we had them anyway. Were some 1st gen DMUs toiletless? Or was this advertising from the fact the PEPs were.

 

[sprinterguy]

Looking at the posts above mine, it is very apt that the earliest train journeys that I can remember were 143s from Seaburn to Newcastle. I made those journeys so often with my Gran or my Mam when I was a child that it's impossible to forget now! I'm part of the "Sprinter generation" that Failed Unit makes reference to

 

[Hydro]

I'm part of the "Sprinter generation" that Failed Unit makes reference to

I'm the same in terms of timescale, but being down on the Southern obviously meant I never saw them. My first Sprinter was Selby-York, must have been about 1993/4, Regional Railways 150/156. I just remember the funny airbags under the body. I'm more leaning towards 150, as I'm sure the doors were 1/3 and 2/3. Definitely saw a Pacer that day too. 143 I'm sure, more rounded front. Memory is a tad hazy.

 

[gg1]

A HST from New Street to York in the early 80s to visit the NRM, and I've loved them ever since

 

[LE Greys]

A HST from New Street to York in the early 80s to visit the NRM, and I've loved them ever since

Ah yes, they would have been yellow, blue and grey then. I just remember that, and the strange three orange stripes on the partitions at the ends of the saloons, and the fact that the lights looked so similar to 317s. Also, looking out of the window, I had never gone so fast in all my short life. Must have been about two or three, on my first trip to the NRM, only I would have started from Stevenage.

Another early one was the first view of an Electra, at the front of an HST rake in 1988. We were going to Keighley this time to visit someone (would have been four). I've got a picture that my father took of the train arriving at Stevenage. Two years later, Graveley JMI did a school trip to the NRM, booked for Coach J (MkIV by then) only to find that there was no Coach J. Quick bit of negotiation from the teacher, and I had my first taste of First Class!

 

[313103]

The first time i remember going on a train was when i was about 5. It was a school outing from Highbury and Islington to Kew Gardens on a class 501. My first trip that i can remember on a tube was a 1938 stock Northern City Line service going from Essex Road to Drayton Park.

 

[Rugd1022]

A class 310 from Northampton to Euston on the way to see Spurs play Liverpool in 1982 - I was five. And like a previous poster, I remember walking up the ramp at Euston and seeing all the blue electrics sitting at the buffers.

Here you go DS.... four of the blighters in the old north and bays at Rugby in 1979

 

[electra27000]

I've very vague memories of watching a class 40, on the London sleeper, arriving at Dundee sometime during the mid to late 70s. I can also remember leaving Glasgow Central, when my family were moving back to Englandshire, during late 1978.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Here you go DS.... four of the blighters in the old north and bays at Rugby in 1979

Takes me back, does that image of the 310s. When I lived in Milton Keynes, I used to spend a lot of my free time watching the trains go by at the Blue Bridge, near Wolverton Works, and used to see plenty of those speeding past. Happy days

 

[dzug2]

Bedford to St Pancras in steam days - c 1954. No idea what engine.

We normally went on the Birch Bros double deck coach service 203 as being a bit cheaper. I always thought it a swizz that the upstairs front was given over to luggage rather than seats.

 

[LE Greys]

Bedford to St Pancras in steam days - c 1954. No idea what engine.

We normally went on the Birch Bros double deck coach service 203 as being a bit cheaper. I always thought it a swizz that the upstairs front was given over to luggage rather than seats.

At a guess, a slow train would be a Class 3 2-6-2T, and a fast train could well be a Jubilee, although there were still a few Midland 4-4-0s about.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

I was very fortunate and lived right next to a railway station ! Sure it was on the electrified Liverpool Exchange to Southport line, but there were a few 'cherries on the cake' ! These were the Southport to London Euston through-carriages, which were steam-hauled and attached to a London bound train at Edge Hill. They ran twice a day and they must be my earliest recollection ! The electric trains were too frequent to make an early, lasting impression,; the steamers on the other hand were always eagerly awaited! The through-carriages ended in 1966 and were replaced by a more frequent DMU service to Liverpool Lime St. Steam was still ocassionally seen, in the way of a few final coal-workings ( all had ceased by 1967) and the odd rail-tour. The Lime St DMU's ran until 1977 and the openning of the Liverpool Loop and Link. Ocassionaly something in the way of 'an interesting replacement DMU' would turn-up, such as a Transpennine class 124 !

Having said all that, I can't actually remember if I ever travelled on a Southport-London puffer. My nan used to take me all over the place on the trains, so I'm sure I did !

 

[Class172]

My earliest memory is on a FGW HST (with valentas) on a trip between Swindon and Bath when I was 3ish — my mum says we used to take that train regularly to go shopping in Bath. It's one of my only memorable experiences on an HST.

Then we moved to Droitwich Spa in 2000; my first trips in Worcestershire must have been on a class 150 to Snow Hill. Also I can distinctly remember class 156s and 158s on the Hereford services. My first venture on a turbostar was in 2003 on a Hereford-Nottingham service; I can picture it perfectly arriving at Droitwich.

My first trip on an electric train would be soon after we moved to Droitwich and went by train to London. I can remember the class 87 whining as it arrived at New St. Never again will I hear that sound

In other posts, people have been saying they are from certain generations. Thing is, I don't know which I'd fit into: born in 1997 so presumably that's Networker generation, but most of my life falls into Turbostar gen (even though I never saw one until 2003). I definitely am not Sprinter generation even though they are the trains I've been around most. So which generation do I fit into??

 

[district]

Would have been an Electrostar on the Ashford to Charing Cross run.

 

[DiscoStu]

Here you go DS.... four of the blighters in the old north and bays at Rugby in 1979

Thanks for this pic - takes me right back. I used to love the old 304's that ran between Rugby and Stafford too

 

[scotsman]

A poxy ScotRail (in the old RR livery) 150 in to Edinburgh.

But, when I was between the ages of 3 and 5 I travelled on...*thinks* Virgin HSTs (had to change at Inverkeithing), ScotRail 150s (hated them with a passion), ScotRail 156s (didn't notice much difference on them) and, when a 150 broke down, a ScotRail 158. During this time, the only train not still in BR colours was the Virgin HST (which often turned up in full or partial Swallow livery, to my disgust)

 

[passmore]

The first 'train' I went on was an old underground Northern Line train from Burnt Oak to Camden Town. Don't ask me the class as I don't know.

The first non-underground train I went on was an old slam-door EMU train from Euston to Bletchley station in the early seventies.

 

[codenamecuebal]

something like a class 320 or 303

 

[Rugd1022]

Thanks for this pic - takes me right back. I used to love the old 304's that ran between Rugby and Stafford too

My pleasure squire.... have another one.... a pair of lovely old 304s and another 310 in the north end bays again

(When the old cabin was still intact in Rugby Yard, the mess room had the bench seat from a 304 down one side, propped up on some old tea chests, it was often used as a bed by our resident shunt driver Tom Blackburn.... every time he laid down on it a great cloud of dust and sh*t flew up!).

 

[Lampshade]

The first train I can remember without doubt is a 455 from Fulwell - London Waterloo sometime in Spring 1997. I remember buying some Juicy Fruit chewing gum from a newsagents on Waterloo concourse before the return journey. Of course I didn't know it was a 455 at the time, I never ventured into third rail land after that until 2008, travelling round the SWT network looking for this train I'd travelled on 11 years earlier - they'd all been refurbished

I remember travelling Staines - Waterloo and back just after Christmas in 1995, but I can't remember for the life of me what train it was - I was only 6.

 

[TheMysticEgg]

I remember travelling Staines - Waterloo and back just after Christmas in 1995, but I can't remember for the life of me what train it was - I was only 6.

Most likely would've been a class 421 or 423 slammer as my first mainline trip was on that line in the mid 90s